The Last Soul
by Uozumi
Summary: The increasing instability of Castiel's souls cause Jimmy to appear on occasion and sets forth events that will lead to Castiel's last act as a god.


**Fandom** _Supernatural_  
><strong>Character(s)Pairing(s)** Castiel, Dean, Jimmy, Sam; Amelia/Jimmy, implied Cas/Dean  
><strong>Genre<strong> Drama/Fantasy/Supernatural  
><strong>Rating<strong> PG-13  
><strong>Word Count<strong> 2,050  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong> Supernatural c. Kripke, CW, WB  
><strong>Summary<strong> The increasing instability of Castiel's souls cause Jimmy to appear on occasion and sets forth events that will lead to Castiel's last act as a god.  
><strong>Warning(s)<strong> spoilers up through season six episode twenty-two and a small spoiler for the official summary for season seven episode one, bleeding, brief violence  
><strong>Notes<strong> I started thinking about some Misha Collins interviews from a while ago (nothing too recent) and how everyone is assuming certain things about season seven when really what could happen is entirely different.

_**The Last Soul**_

The maze of corridors separated Sam and Dean an hour ago. The building was eerily silent and their cell phones had no signal. The brothers arrived to track down a rumor of an unidentified monster that drowned victims with something wet but unidentifiable. Dean kept his eyes out for Sam and then suddenly froze. He felt something cold, slick, and sticky invade his nostrils. He brought his fingers to his nose, but his fingers felt nothing unusual. Yet the mass pushed up into his sinuses. He opened his mouth to get more air, but soon Dean could feel his mouth filling with the pussy, tasteless oddity.

Then there was fire. A short burst just behind Dean. The fullness in his nose and throat slowly slid away and he turned around so see what looked like a smoldering booger worm lying torched on the floor. Dean blinked and stared at the person standing over the worm. The man wore a black suit with a dark dress shirt without a tie. His blue eyes held Dean's gaze and his trembling hands lowered his flamethrower.

"I – I saw there was a problem, so I thought I'd help." His voice was like any other hunter on one of their first kills. He was very pale.

Dean reached out to steady him when the man's knees buckled. "Cas take the night off or something?" Dean could not remember the vessel's name but the vessel was so fish out of water, this could not be Castiel.

"'Or something,'" Jimmy answered. "He'll fight his way back I'm sure." He looked around. "These monsters are after Sam too." He clutched the flamethrower tight. When he discovered the worm monsters intentions, he made certain to claw his way back to conscious control of his body near an adequate weapon.

"Wait. So you're some ticking time bomb?" Dean let Jimmy go once the older man steadied.

Jimmy started walking. He saw Sam's location through Castiel's eyes not too long ago. It was how he found Dean. "No, not really. I know your last meeting was rough –"

"'Rough? Rough?' He demanded we bow down to him and when we didn't, he made Sammy remember Hell." Dean kept his eyes out for shadows or something slimy that was just in the corner of his sight.

"I know, I was there," Jimmy sighed, "barely." He shook his head and quickly skirted a corner, almost toppling over with the weight of the flamethrower. "The souls corrupt Castiel. He used to keep me at bay by putting me into a version of Heaven. I got to relieve a lot of things." He paused and licked his lips slightly. "Then one day, the scenery changed. What I thought was the Shed Aquarium in 1991 quickly became a nightmare where instead of my first kiss, I stabbed Amelia with a sword fish." He could feel more than see Dean's facial expression. "Weird. I know."

"So Castiel's sided with the Legion of Doom," Dean said. "We're still going to fix this."

"I know," Jimmy answered. He found a door and opened it so they could step into a parallel hallway. "That's why I'm helping."

The pair found Sam coughing and sputtering near two burnt corpses. His lighter lay a few feet away on the ground with a bottle of deodorant spray he carried in his bag. Dean knelt down to make sure Sam was okay. When he looked back at Jimmy, Jimmy was gone.

With Castiel's souls-powered omnipotence came fewer visits. The angel turned some kind of god probably knew their intentions as the Winchester brothers struggled to come up with a means to return Castiel to normal. Sam stepped out of their motel room to catch fresh air in the early morning hours. It had been weeks since Jimmy appeared to help them with the worm monsters. Dean was still asleep but Sam's brain struggled with the details of their latest job.

Sam slowed when he saw a figure just beyond the parking lot. Sam approached the man slowly at first, and then picked up speed when he saw the man clutch his arm and drop to his knees hard in the dirt. As Sam neared, he recognized Jimmy, who held a long sword covered in purple blood. Sam could not see a corpse anywhere but the strong scent of juniper hung in the air. "So Dean was right." Sam was uncertain when Dean told him Jimmy had been at the worm job weeks ago.

Jimmy stood up slowly and tried to wipe off the purple goo onto the grass nearby. "I had to take care of it. It was going to eat the teenagers swimming in the park's lake." He looked at Sam and held his gaze. "I let this happen. I," he swallowed, "have to stop it."

"Yeah, well, you're bleeding," Sam pointed out. He reached into his pockets to find something to help with the bleeding, but all the bandages

"When I'm in charge, Castiel's powers go away," Jimmy answered. He looked at the blood dripping off his fingertips. The wound lay somewhere near his elbow. He almost lost his balance but regained it before he could pitch forward. "Once he gets control of the souls again, I'll be back in mental Hell."

"So you use the souls to distract him?" Sam was impressed at Jimmy's bravery. The first time they met years ago, Jimmy seemed like one of those nice guys at school that Dean would have teased and Sam would have partnered with on projects to help get a good grade. Jimmy seemed like someone, up until he said yes to Castiel a second time, who was rather meek and mousey.

Jimmy nodded. He put his sword into his belt loop and then carefully undid the buttons on his shirt before shrugging the right sleeves of his suit coat and shirt off. The wound was deep but not deep enough to damage muscle. He reached into a pocket and found his handkerchief.

Sam watched. "Do you want any help?" He paused. "I mean not just with this, but you know, with the monsters."

"Castiel will take over again soon," Jimmy fumbled to tie the handkerchief around the wound. "It's you and your brother that need the help." He shook his head. "The souls are getting more unstable. Sometimes I think my body will explode." He grabbed one end of the handkerchief in his mouth and tugged it tight.

Sam shook his head. He remembered years ago when Jimmy first appeared. "Do you want some food? Water?"

Jimmy opened his mouth but before he could answer, he glowed an almost-blinding white. Sam shaded his eyes and once the glow subsided, Castiel stood before him. Castiel removed the bloodied handkerchief and discarded it in a burst of flame. His arm returned to normal and he put his arm back through his sleeves. With some fumbling, Castiel buttoned his shirt back up.

Sam's teeth set on edge. He wanted to leave but his legs did not respond. He could remember the last time Castiel touched him, how all of his memories of Hell suddenly flooded his conscious mind, too intense to ignore. At the time, he knew the gesture had been to throw Dean and Bobby off Castiel's trail when Castiel left them. However, Sam was uncertain it had not been a move against him as well.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Sam," Castiel said. "I have no reason to right now." He glowed briefly and then he was back to normal.

"Jimmy said you're unstable," Sam ventured. "You keep glowing."

"I think you call them 'side effects,'" Castiel said and wiggled his fingers in the air. "Like how wings are heavy or having grace comes with rules."

A bush rustled and then Dean appeared. He stepped in-between Sam and Castiel. "I think you need help, Cas," Dean pulled himself up to his full height as though that would intimidate. "You're not controlling the souls. Just," he paused, "let them go."

Castiel held Dean's gaze for a long time. "You don't understand." His eyes narrowed. "You don't want to understand." Dean and Sam heard the sound of feathers moving and then Castiel was gone.

Dean took a deep breath. "That…" He shook his head.

"How much did you hear?" Sam watched Dean.

"Enough." Dean turned and led the way back to the motel.

A month later found the brothers sitting on the hood of the impala near an Atlantic beach. Sam had his phone up, scrolling through bizarre news stories. "There are people melting into the floor in New Jersey," he scrolled down with his finger, "eraser people in Vermont…"

"'Eraser people?'" Dean glanced at the phone.

"Uh…" Sam was about to click the link and learn more from the post when there was a flash of light and a sound louder than even the closest thunder. Both brothers slid off the hood of the Impala and grabbed some hunting supplies. A mist began to meander towards them from the tide, smelling of burnt flesh, clothing, and salt.

A figure stumbled towards the brothers. His clothes were torn and he walked as though he did not know how to balance his body any longer. "Of course," Castiel's voice rasped, "you two would be here." He pitched forward and the brothers each grabbed onto one of his arms. There were two tears in Castiel's shirt and suit where his wings used to be. The blood slid down his body and stained the sand.

"What happened?" Sam asked as he helped Dean guide Castiel down onto the beach and out of the incoming tide.

"God," Castiel snorted, "returned, if you can call never being gone returning." He coughed violently and swallowed something back down. "He threw me out of Heaven. Permanently."

"And the souls?" Dean kept a tight grip on Castiel's arm.

"I…" Castiel swallowed again. "I have enough to do one last thing."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks. Dean took a breath. "Cas, just let them go. You don't have to do anything else."

"No, I do." Castiel held Dean's gaze and his eyebrows furrowed. "I'm…I'm sorry, Dean." He tilted his head back and then his entire body glowed brightly before the glow expelled from Castiel and flew off in all directions. The brothers let go when Castiel's body grew too hot to touch. Once all of the souls escaped, everything became dark once again and Castiel's body slumped forward into the wet sand.

Dean opened his eyes. Castiel sputtered and coughed. He slowly, shakily sat up, spitting sand out. Sam steadied him with a hand and then paused. "Jimmy?"

Jimmy coughing began to subside and he nodded. He brushed Sam off and shakily got to his feet. He felt more than saw Sam also rise. Dean remained kneeling on the beach, ignoring the encroaching tide. Jimmy winced at the pain on his back, but he was no longer bleeding so badly it would become a more serious issue. He looked down at Dean and shifted his weight. He opened his mouth and then closed it. Then he said, "Castiel wanted to see you one last time. I think…I think he appreciated that you were here," he glanced over at Sam, "both of you."

Dean said nothing.

"Do you need anything?" Sam asked Jimmy but kept an eye on Dean.

"No." Jimmy took a few steps. Once he was confident he could walk without falling over, he turned to Sam and Dean. "I'm going to find Amelia and Claire. Even if I've ruined everything, it wouldn't be fair to them to be alive somewhere and not tell them at least." His eyes drifted to Dean who was in the process of standing. "Good luck, Dean, Sam." Jimmy turned away and began walking towards the town nearby where there would be a hot meal and a place to rest before his journey.

Dean brushed the sand from his jeans as best he could. The brothers could feel the tide start to lap up onto their ankles. Dean started towards the Impala in silence. Sam took one last moment to look at Jimmy's retreating form before following his brother. In a few moments, the brothers were on the road, classic rock blaring in their wake. 

**The End**


End file.
